nifty 50 equivalent under $200?

Ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the 12-40mm 2.8 lens. One lens I used from time to time on the Canon gear was the 50 1.8. It's a great lens for $100. Is there a favorite equivalent wide aperture inexpensive lens that will work well on the Olympus?

I see the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake, but the cost is $300+

Olympus 25 1.8 is near $400

They're probably built better than the nifty 50, but anyone know if an inexpensive (under $200) 1.8 50mm equivalent might be coming?

The nifty 50 has been around a long long time allowing economies of scale to push priced down. And add larger sales volumes and the nifty 50 is cheap. Id imagine in 3-5 years of continued growth that could be achieved.

Ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the 12-40mm 2.8 lens. One lens I used from time to time on the Canon gear was the 50 1.8. It's a great lens for $100. Is there a favorite equivalent wide aperture inexpensive lens that will work well on the Olympus?

I see the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake, but the cost is $300+

Olympus 25 1.8 is near $400

They're probably built better than the nifty 50, but anyone know if an inexpensive (under $200) 1.8 50mm equivalent might be coming?

I believe that's the cheapest fast prime in the 50mm FOV range for this format.

There are no plans for a lens this cheap in the near future. The 20mm may drop close to $200 in the used market as people may now be more drawn to the 25mm Oly, but you'll have to wait and keep an eye on it.

The reason there are no lenses as cheap as the canon EF 50mm 1.8 for other formats, is simply that it's a cheap-ass lens in every sense of the word. Bad build, bad and noisy AF, old 1990s design that is very soft wide open... M43 glass is more expensive, but you get what you pay for, generally speaking.

Sigma makes a not bad 30mm 2.8 for about $200, and sometimes you can find version one - only cosmetically different for $150.00

I started to go 'there' too, but realized he has the 2.8 12-40, and the main consideration after the FOV was the maximum aperture. I also resisted mentioning the CV 25/0.95 (a little bit more than $300 $500 $700 [g]).

Ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the 12-40mm 2.8 lens. One lens I used from time to time on the Canon gear was the 50 1.8. It's a great lens for $100. Is there a favorite equivalent wide aperture inexpensive lens that will work well on the Olympus?

I see the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake, but the cost is $300+

Olympus 25 1.8 is near $400

They're probably built better than the nifty 50, but anyone know if an inexpensive (under $200) 1.8 50mm equivalent might be coming?

Sean

Well, the only actual equivalent (in terms of DOF and light gathering) of 50/1.8 in m43 world is Voightlander 25/0.95, but it's nowhere near $200 (and manual focus at that). I wouldn't expect anything of a kind to drift below $200 anytime soon.

That's the main disadvantage of the Micro Four Thirds system in my opinion - some lenses are pricey compared to DSLR lens offerings. However, if you don't mind focusing manually (your E-M10 has focus peaking, which makes MF much easier), you can snag a great deal on a legacy lens, maybe a 24mm which is usually pretty common in the traditional 35mm format.

Ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the 12-40mm 2.8 lens. One lens I used from time to time on the Canon gear was the 50 1.8. It's a great lens for $100. Is there a favorite equivalent wide aperture inexpensive lens that will work well on the Olympus?

I see the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake, but the cost is $300+

Olympus 25 1.8 is near $400

I'd recommend just paying the four bills for the Oly 25/1.8. Mainly because it competes equally with the most expensive 50s, not the cheapest (and it's tiny). In that context, the price could be seen as a bargain.

One thing about m43s - it ain't cheap. But the value of Oly products like the 12-40, 25/1.8, 45/1.8 and 75/1.8 is still excellent because of how good they are optically.

As good a lens as the 12-40 is, I don't think you'd be happy with a $100 solution, anyway. And if/when it comes time to sell it, that 25/1.8 will still be worth $300 or more. It's not spent, it's invested.

Ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the 12-40mm 2.8 lens. One lens I used from time to time on the Canon gear was the 50 1.8. It's a great lens for $100. Is there a favorite equivalent wide aperture inexpensive lens that will work well on the Olympus?

I see the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake, but the cost is $300+

Olympus 25 1.8 is near $400

They're probably built better than the nifty 50, but anyone know if an inexpensive (under $200) 1.8 50mm equivalent might be coming?

Sean

I actually had the Pany 25mm f1.4 on my E-M5 for quite a while. But when I got the Pany 12-35mm f2.8 (basicaly the Pany equiv of the Oly 12-40 f2.8) I went ahead and sold it. I personally didn't need the extra stop and the sharpness is so close that I just never put the 25mm on the camera anymore. And no need letting a lens sit idle!

But if I did want the extra stop, I'd save my pennies and get the Pany version. You can find a used one for around $400 and it's worth every penny!

Ordered an Olympus OM-D E-M10 and the 12-40mm 2.8 lens. One lens I used from time to time on the Canon gear was the 50 1.8. It's a great lens for $100. Is there a favorite equivalent wide aperture inexpensive lens that will work well on the Olympus?

I see the Panasonic 20mm 1.7 pancake, but the cost is $300+

Olympus 25 1.8 is near $400

They're probably built better than the nifty 50, but anyone know if an inexpensive (under $200) 1.8 50mm equivalent might be coming?

Sean

I bought into m43 on whim without realizing there was not nifty-50 eq. for the system. I have the Sigma 30/2.8. Really nice cheap lens. The older style ones can be found for less than $100 used/mint. Probably better than the EF 50/1.8 II. I also have the Oly 17/2.8... another nice cheap SMALL lens (no matter what anyone else says!).

Well, the only actual equivalent (in terms of DOF and light gathering) of 50/1.8 in m43 world is Voightlander 25/0.95, but it's nowhere near $200 (and manual focus at that).

You're right about DOF, but a 25mm f/1.8 lens designed for Micro Four Thirds has the same light-gathering as a 50mm f/1.8 lens designed for full-frame (35mm). The larger lens gathers 4 times as much light, but the light is spread over an image circle 4 times as large.

There are no plans for a lens this cheap in the near future. The 20mm may drop close to $200 in the used market as people may now be more drawn to the 25mm Oly, but you'll have to wait and keep an eye on it.

The reason there are no lenses as cheap as the canon EF 50mm 1.8 for other formats, is simply that it's a cheap-ass lens in every sense of the word. Bad build, bad and noisy AF, old 1990s design that is very soft wide open... M43 glass is more expensive, but you get what you pay for, generally speaking.

Exactly. The Oly 24mm 1.8 looks more like a competitor to Canon's stellar 50mm 1.4 not the bleh Canon 50mm 1.8.